Uncle Sam
Member
Vending Blog #4 Customer Service--Quality Products versus Knock-Offs
I hope the forum readers will indulge a pet irritation of mine and a little ?venting? on my part!!
Innovative product development to satisfy changing consumer demands in almost any industry has to be a company priority to keep up with the competitive pressures in the market place. Technology is changing on a daily basis so new, quality products are developed to respond to these changing consumer demands. Once consumers get exposed to these new technologies and appreciate them, there is no going back. There are car wash equipment suppliers in the U.S. that are very good at new product development, the quality of their manufactured products, and the support services they have maintained over the years. You only have to attend any of the World or Regional Expos to see the new ideas and the equipment to implement those ideas in the car wash industry. Many start out as wash operators who have tried their idea in their own washes and over time have tested the product until it works very reliably day after day. Hours and hours of time and many $$$$ have been spent in these developments. Then comes the time when the "rubber has to meet the road" at an Expo where the new equipment is introduced (marketed) in the real world. Operators will quickly give you a perspective whether the idea will work or not for them in their wash. Sometimes the marketing succeeds and sometimes it doesn't. Those of us who do the R&D appreciate the feedback. It does take time to market a viable product that is accepted by car wash operators.
After the introduction of a new product it isn't long before the other Expo exhibitors (especially the self-branded discount houses) see this new idea or product as a "line extension" and "knock-offs" appear at some future Expo that are very similar to or do the same service as the original. The copies of the product are always "flogged" at a lower price because the new company does not have the development costs to amortize over the limited sales that are available. Many are copied and made in a foreign country patented or not. You always hear sales people say "ours is the same product as "XYZ?s" only we can sell it to you at a better price. There is only one problem with this type of marketing and that is "no two products are exactly the same in quality." You can only make a product cheaper if you have fewer features, make it out of cheaper or lighter weight materials, or cut corners somewhere.
I hope the forum readers will indulge a pet irritation of mine and a little ?venting? on my part!!
Innovative product development to satisfy changing consumer demands in almost any industry has to be a company priority to keep up with the competitive pressures in the market place. Technology is changing on a daily basis so new, quality products are developed to respond to these changing consumer demands. Once consumers get exposed to these new technologies and appreciate them, there is no going back. There are car wash equipment suppliers in the U.S. that are very good at new product development, the quality of their manufactured products, and the support services they have maintained over the years. You only have to attend any of the World or Regional Expos to see the new ideas and the equipment to implement those ideas in the car wash industry. Many start out as wash operators who have tried their idea in their own washes and over time have tested the product until it works very reliably day after day. Hours and hours of time and many $$$$ have been spent in these developments. Then comes the time when the "rubber has to meet the road" at an Expo where the new equipment is introduced (marketed) in the real world. Operators will quickly give you a perspective whether the idea will work or not for them in their wash. Sometimes the marketing succeeds and sometimes it doesn't. Those of us who do the R&D appreciate the feedback. It does take time to market a viable product that is accepted by car wash operators.
After the introduction of a new product it isn't long before the other Expo exhibitors (especially the self-branded discount houses) see this new idea or product as a "line extension" and "knock-offs" appear at some future Expo that are very similar to or do the same service as the original. The copies of the product are always "flogged" at a lower price because the new company does not have the development costs to amortize over the limited sales that are available. Many are copied and made in a foreign country patented or not. You always hear sales people say "ours is the same product as "XYZ?s" only we can sell it to you at a better price. There is only one problem with this type of marketing and that is "no two products are exactly the same in quality." You can only make a product cheaper if you have fewer features, make it out of cheaper or lighter weight materials, or cut corners somewhere.
Last edited:
